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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628678">The Blackmail Situation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard'>draculard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brief flashback to a past relationship, Crack Treated Seriously, Don't read this is if you're expecting a brilliant plot, Eli Vanto crushing hard, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Nonconsensual outing, Past Age Difference, Past Oral Sex, Severe embarrassment on everyone's parts, Situational Humiliation, The Jedi shall remain unnamed because who tf cares</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:28:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything goes south when a captured Jedi turns the interrogation back around on Thrawn.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Karyn Faro &amp; Eli Vanto, Past Thrawn/Original Male Character, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Blackmail Situation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Come say hi on tumblr, I'm draculard there too</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I can read your mind, you know,” the captive Jedi said.</p><p>Behind Thrawn — and out of his sight — Commodore Faro and Commander Vanto shared a significant look. Eli flickered his eyes toward the ceiling in a sort of half-hearted eye-roll that wouldn’t look <em> too </em> unprofessional, should he be caught doing it. Faro allowed herself a small, private smirk.</p><p>“I am aware of the interpretive abilities inherent to some Force-users,” said Thrawn to the Jedi. His tone was neutral. “I believe they are more-or-less equivalent to the deductive abilities inherent to or honed through years of training in many beings to whom the very concept of Force-sensitivity may be foreign. You are capable of intuiting highs and lows of emotion and perhaps recognizing deception; however, I do not believe you are capable of ‘reading’ thoughts.”</p><p>If the Jedi was offended by this, he didn’t show it. His face was a grim mask when he said, “I can see your memories — when I search for them, that is — and I can read more than you think.”</p><p>“Are you searching for them now?” asked Thrawn politely. </p><p>In response, the Jedi closed his eyes; his breath deepened. When he spoke again, his voice was low. “Your mind,” he said to Thrawn, “is not quite so obscured as you would like to believe.”</p><p>His next word, intoned ominously, drew a sharp hiss of surprise from Eli and no reaction at all from Thrawn, who still stood placidly before the Jedi with his hands clasped behind his back. Faro glanced back and forth between her admiral and the commander beside her, uncomprehending.</p><p>The word, <em> Mitth’raw’nuruodo</em>, was entirely unfamiliar to her. Why in the galaxy would any word elicit such a marked reaction from Eli when Thrawn’s face remained blank? </p><p>Maybe Eli’s reaction, subtle as it was, was all the Jedi needed. He leaned forward against his restraints now, eyes glittering, teeth bared.</p><p>“Your subordinates over there don’t know, do they?” he asked. “In fact, you’re terrified they’ll find out.”</p><p>Thrawn glanced over his shoulder at Eli and Faro, but he had barely turned his head when the Jedi spoke again.</p><p>“You’re obscuring the wrong thing,” he said. “So military-minded you refuse to acknowledge your own personal fears.”</p><p>Thrawn’s lips quirked into an almost-smile. “Surely, any tactical secrets I may hold are more important than my personal fears.”</p><p>“Anything you fail to obscure becomes a tool,” said the Jedi. His eyebrows were furrowed, Faro noticed; a bead of sweat stood out at his hairline, slowly trickling toward his temple. She glanced away from him, at Eli, who met her gaze with the same unease in his face that Faro currently felt spiking through her.</p><p>“I suspect you mean to say it becomes a <em> weapon</em>,” said Thrawn. He glanced over his shoulder at Eli as though he were really seeking a translation; Eli didn’t bother to respond.</p><p>The Jedi did, though. He tipped his head back so that it lolled on his shoulders, eyes closed, nostrils flaring. </p><p>“You attempt to hide your thoughts,” he said, voice faint and far away, “with a barrage of numbers and words in your native tongue. But emotions cannot be hidden that way; only information can. What you can’t seem to hide, Grand Admiral Thrawn—”</p><p>“—is scarcely important,” said Thrawn, “if, as you say, my thoughts remain hidden.”</p><p>“—is the <em> terror </em> you feel,” the Jedi continued as though Thrawn hadn’t interjected. His eyelids flickered; his head tipped up again. Despite the sweat now trickling liberally down his face, his gaze was steady. “Your loyalties and your plans are opaque to me. Your <em> preferences </em> are not.”</p><p>It was a long time before anyone responded.</p><p>“Preferences?” Thrawn said. His tone was flat, but the words came out in a whisper. Faro’s growing sense of unease spread down her spine like a persistent itch; it was all she could do to keep her face blank and avoid shifting where she stood. </p><p>The Jedi looked back at Thrawn with a smug twist to his lips that reminded Faro of a Loth-cat. Eyebrows furrowed, Thrawn glanced over his shoulder at Faro and Eli again.  </p><p>“You know what I mean,” the Jedi said, licking sweat off his upper lip. “I can tell you do. So do you want me to tell them? Or do you want to…?” He lifted his hands, shaking the binders cuffed around his wrists meaningfully.</p><p>Faro watched the lines of Thrawn’s face harden in subtle contempt.</p><p>“You think I will let you go over vague threats to reveal a secret you can’t even name?” he asked, his tone even. “Even assuming you can read my mind, there is nothing you can gain except the petty satisfaction of announcing whatever you find while I and my colleagues continue to hold you captive.”</p><p>The Jedi eyed Thrawn, glaring openly, clearly formulating a response.</p><p>“If you think I will release a captive Jedi simply to save my own pride,” Thrawn continued, a little more coldly, “you are gravely mistaken.”</p><p>The Jedi’s lips quirked again. “Yet your heart is pounding,” he said. “Your adrenaline is racing. You talk a good game, Thrawn, but you’re terrified. I can tell.”</p><p>“Yes,” said Thrawn, “so you’ve said.”</p><p>“I’ll tell you this,” the Jedi pushed on, leaning forward in his chair. “It’s not an empty threat, Thrawn, and it’s not just petty revenge, either. Your colleagues, as you call them, will lose all loyalty to you the moment they find out — I can see that in their minds even more easily than I can read yours. And once the news gets out — and it will get out — you’ll be ruined. Nothing will be able to save your career then. Where will you go when even the Empire turns it back on you? Back to the deserted planet where they found you? You certainly can’t go home.”</p><p>Thrawn’s eyes narrowed. Next to Faro, Eli stiffened, his face hardening as well. The significance of the Jedi’s words wasn’t lost on Faro — she didn’t know much about Thrawn’s life, and she’d certainly never heard rumors about him being found on a deserted planet. Judging by his and Eli’s reactions, the Jedi had somehow hit the nail on the head.</p><p>“I’ll give you one more chance,” the Jedi said, holding his bound hands out again. </p><p>Thrawn said nothing. The Jedi watched him, his own face twitching with barely-concealed rage. </p><p>“Well?” said Thrawn eventually, raising an eyebrow. Faro hid a wince, knowing instinctively that it wasn’t wise to provoke the Jedi — but at the same time, she didn’t know what else Thrawn could say. The Jedi’s eyes flickered from Thrawn to Faro and then to Eli, his lips curling up in a cruel smile.</p><p>“Let me show you,” he said, his voice deceptively sweet.</p><p>And suddenly, the room around them seemed to dissolve. Faro tensed, reaching automatically for her blaster and keeping her hand on the grip as another room took the place of the brig. The walls shifted shape, turning translucent white, each panel underlaid with glowing lights. Eli and the Jedi were gone, but she wasn’t alone in the room.</p><p>Before her, not seeming to notice her at all, were two male Chiss. One knelt before the other, each of them clad in the black tunics of an unfamiliar military uniform. The kneeling Chiss was younger than the other by at least twenty years, his face turned up to face the light, his collar open and his hair in disarray.</p><p>Belatedly, Faro realized she was looking at Thrawn — a much younger Thrawn than she had ever known. The older Chiss leaned forward, his thumb prying open Thrawn’s lips.</p><p>Horror settled over Faro like a sudden wash of freezing rain as she realized what the Jedi was showing her and why Thrawn had been so terrified to let them see it. She forced herself to step forward, putting her hand on the older Chiss’s shoulder to pull him away, but he was no more substantial than a holo. He didn’t flicker when she touched him; her hand simply disappeared, only becoming visible again when she pulled away.</p><p>She looked down at the younger version of Thrawn, her face grim as she waited for him to fight back. If this was a memory Thrawn wanted hidden, it was likely because he’d lost the struggle, she knew — and looking over the other Chiss, it wasn’t hard to see why. He stood well over two meters, with a muscle-packed build to match. Older than Thrawn, yes, but not necessarily less powerful. Not at all.</p><p>But Thrawn didn’t fight back in the first place. </p><p>Instead, he closed his eyes, his hands coming to rest on the older Chiss’s hips. He said something in a language Faro had never heard before, and she had no way to understand the words, but she understood the tone well enough — this wasn’t a scene of violence at all. Thrawn was a willing participant.</p><p>Now puzzled, she took several steps back and glanced around, hoping to catch any sign of the others. She did her best not to pay attention to the scene before her, more than a little embarrassed as the older Chiss unzipped his trousers. This wasn’t exactly the sort of situation she wanted to see her commanding officer in. Or <em> any </em> of her colleagues, really.</p><p>She turned away, her cheeks burning, as the younger version of Thrawn took the older Chiss’s cock into his mouth. Covering her eyes and speaking loudly so she couldn’t hear anything else, she said, “I’ve seen enough now. Let me out.”</p><p>She waited ten seconds before tentatively unshading her eyes. The room had resolved itself again, revealing the captive Jedi, Eli — who was beet-red, just like her — and Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was standing nearby, his posture stiff and his jaw tight, arms crossed almost protectively over his chest.</p><p>An awful silence descended over them. The Jedi sat back in his seat, watching them all in smug satisfaction.</p><p>“...Okay,” said Eli eventually, his blush starting to fade. He shot Faro a quizzical look; she shrugged in return. Turning to the Jedi, Eli said, “Was that all?”</p><p>Beside Faro, Thrawn seemed to freeze — not breathing, not blinking, giving nothing away. The Jedi stared at Eli uncomprehendingly. His eyes flickered to Thrawn, then to Faro, then back to Thrawn again.</p><p>“That’s all,” he said, not sounding quite so sure of himself anymore. Thrawn was holding his breath, Faro realized, though outwardly he seemed utterly calm. She waited a beat to see if he would take control of the situation, but when he didn’t, she stepped up by instinct, taking over before the Jedi noticed Thrawn’s lapse.</p><p>“Well, we’d best be getting back to the bridge,” she said, her voice cool and professional. To the Jedi, she said, “Your meals will be delivered twice a day. If you find yourself more amenable to answering questions in the future, feel free to tell your guard.”</p><p>She led the way out of the room before he could respond, Eli following her without hesitation. It took Thrawn a moment to fall into step. None of them spoke until they were halfway to the bridge, long out of the Jedi’s earshot. Then Faro turned on her heel, facing both Eli and Thrawn at once. They pulled up short, Eli looking mostly normal, Thrawn still looking distracted and out of sorts.</p><p>“Perhaps we should speak in the command room, sir,” said Faro.</p><p>A strange expression flickered over Thrawn’s face, but after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. This time, he led the way, scanning his code cylinder and letting them all in. Faro and Eli gravitated to his desk automatically, standing there with rigid military posture as Thrawn circled around and took a seat.</p><p>For a long moment, none of them spoke. Then, letting out a long sigh, Eli slumped his shoulders and shook his head.</p><p>“What the hell was <em> that </em> all about?” he asked, throwing up his hands.</p><p>Behind the desk, Thrawn’s expression cracked a little, showing a glimpse of the mortification he must have been feeling all along. He steadfastly avoided Faro’s and Eli’s eyes. </p><p>“Sir?” Faro asked.</p><p>A bit roughly, with a peevish roll of his eyes, Thrawn said, “Ask the Jedi.”</p><p>Faro and Eli side-eyed each other, neither of them speaking for a moment. It wasn’t like Thrawn to snap at his subordinates; of course, it wasn’t every day that one of Thrawn’s more intimate memories was shared with them against his will, either, so maybe a little snapping was justifiable. </p><p>“Was it … a <em> real </em> memory?” Eli asked. He and Faro glanced at each other, both a little uncertain. “Because, I mean, that would make a lot of sense, if he faked a memory,” Eli added a little lamely. “I could see that, for sure. Strategically, I mean … maybe he was trying to distract us or something. I don’t know.”</p><p>Thrawn’s eyes flickered, his mouth tightening. He looked for all the world like he wanted to say Eli was right, but couldn’t bring himself to lie. Finally, with a muscle jumping in his jaw, he nodded. “It was real,” he said, barely audible.</p><p>The silence drew out for a long time before he finally, quietly, added, “I understand fully if this changes your view of me.”</p><p>Faro shot Eli a puzzled look, then turned her attention back to Thrawn. “What do you mean, sir?”</p><p>Thrawn shook his head sharply, not answering. He still wouldn’t meet their eyes. </p><p>“Sir,” said Eli carefully, “there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Really. I had my eyes closed the whole time.”</p><p>“I did as well,” Faro added swiftly. “Neither of us saw a thing.”</p><p>This wasn’t strictly true for either of them, but if it eased Thrawn’s embarrassment a little, it was well worth the lie.</p><p>Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to buy it. He looked at them both with a weary expression on his face, still not quite making eye contact. </p><p>“I appreciate your loyalty,” he said a tad heavily, “but in this case I’m afraid it will do us no good. If either of you comes before either the Emperor or Lord Vader, there will be no hiding this. And then it will not be just my life on the line; it will be yours as well, on counts of collusion. I cannot allow that.”</p><p>Faro blinked. Whatever she’d expected Thrawn to say, it hadn’t been <em> that</em>. A little embarrassment she expected, sure, but what the hell was he talking about, saying it could get them killed?</p><p>“Sir,” said Eli carefully, “I think you’re overreacting a little here.”</p><p>Thrawn sat back a smidge, turning his blank stare on Eli.</p><p>“He’s right, sir,” Faro threw in, trying not to show how bewildered she was. “It looked like nothing more than an innocuous affair to me. There’s no reason any of us should be in <em> danger </em> over it.”</p><p>Unless, of course, Thrawn had somehow been exposed to a different memory than the one they saw. His expression seemed to fracture again, this time revealing no small amount of confusion.</p><p>“What did you see?” he asked, eyes darting from Faro to Eli as the same thought occurred to him. Faro shifted in place, glancing uncomfortably at Eli.</p><p>“I saw you with an older Chiss,” she said hesitantly. “You were both in uniforms. You were … on your knees, uh…”</p><p>“Oral sex,” Eli cut in, striving for a professional, detached tone and instead sounding faintly queasy. Thrawn’s eyebrows furrowed, an unmistakable blush rising to his cheeks.</p><p>“I thought so,” he said, also sounding sick. “So I don’t understand why the two of you fail to see the danger.”</p><p>“<em>What </em> danger, sir?” asked Faro, truly baffled.</p><p>For a long moment, Thrawn just stared at her, finally meeting her eyes and looking just as confused as she felt. He was studying Faro and Eli almost like he thought they were playing a cruel joke on him. Finally, visibly forcing himself to say the words, he said,</p><p>“It wasn’t just an older Chiss, Commodore. It was a <em> male </em> Chiss.”</p><p>There was a beat of silence.</p><p>“Yes, sir,” said Faro, her patience a little strained. “That was rather obvious.”</p><p>“Humans are built the same way,” said Eli helpfully, gesturing down toward his belt and then awkwardly aborting the gesture as he realized what he was doing. “So it’s pretty easy to tell.”</p><p>Thrawn’s expression didn’t change for a moment. Then, abruptly, he leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, rubbing wearily at his eyes. “I don’t understand,” he said, voice muffled. “I think perhaps I am lacking some essential information.”</p><p>Faro was beginning to suspect the same thing herself. Beside her, Eli’s eyebrows were furrowed, a frown marring his face.</p><p>“Wait,” he said. “Sir, is this because you’re gay?”</p><p>Faro’s head snapped back around to stare at Thrawn again, her eyes wide. He seemed to have frozen, hiding behind his hands, but she didn’t need him to confirm Eli’s theory — now that he’d said it aloud, it seemed so obvious that this was 100% Thrawn’s hang-up.</p><p>“Because everyone <em> knows </em> you’re gay,” said Eli. “It’s not exactly a secret.”</p><p>Thrawn sat up a little, uncovering his face and trying to look casual. “Not a secret,” he repeated flatly. Before either Faro or Eli could figure out how to respond, he gave them both a dead-eyed stare and said, “I’ve been keeping this a secret my entire <em> life</em>. It’s an offense sometimes punishable by death on my homeworld. The only reason I was exil—”</p><p>He took a sharp breath, cutting himself off, but Eli and Faro had heard enough.</p><p>“You were exiled for having a relationship with another man?” asked Eli, aghast. “You told us it was because of a preemptive strike against an enemy!”</p><p>“Well, I had to say <em> something</em>,” Thrawn snapped. He visibly composed himself, reigning in his temper. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer than before. “It is <em> not </em> punishable by death here?”</p><p>“No,” said Faro firmly, a little horrified. “I’ve never heard of that <em> anywhere</em>. Why the hell would it carry the death penalty?”</p><p>“Why would it even be illegal?” asked Eli, as baffled as she was. “You don’t mean because he was higher-ranked than you, do you?”</p><p>Thrawn drew himself up, looking vaguely irritated. “He was not higher-ranking. He was enlisted; I was commissioned. It was illegal because both of us are male; that is all.” He scrutinized them for a long moment, his eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, everyone knows I’m gay?”</p><p>Faro and Eli shared a hesitant look.</p><p>“Well…” said Faro.</p><p>“I mean…” said Eli.</p><p>“It’s — it’s just something about the way you talk to people, sir,” Faro said. Thrawn touched his throat, looking faintly alarmed.</p><p>“My voice?” he said.</p><p>“No, no,” Faro said quickly. “Although actually, yes, a little. Now that I think about it.”</p><p>Eli winced.</p><p>“What I meant is that <em> sometimes</em>,” said Faro, trying to find a delicate way to say this, “when you’re talking to other people, whether they’re military or not, your body language gives you away. For example, if you’re talking to a beautiful woman, you stand like this.”</p><p>She gestured to Eli, who immediately assumed Thrawn’s typical military posture, hands clasped behind his back, looking down his nose at an imaginary person somewhere in front of him.</p><p>“And if she’s a plain or ugly woman, you stand like this,” Faro said.</p><p>She gestured to Eli again, who didn’t change his posture one bit.</p><p>“If you’re talking to an unattractive man,” Faro said, “you stand the same way. But if you’re talking to a <em> handsome </em> man, or — er—”</p><p>“A tall one,” said Eli somewhat darkly.</p><p>“Yes,” Faro said with a sympathetic look downward in Eli’s direction. “You just tend to stand a little <em> closer</em>, is all, and your posture is a little more relaxed, like you’re sort of leaning into him.”</p><p>Thrawn, she reflected, had probably never looked so mortified in his life. “Tall men?” he repeated. “The Empire is <em> full </em> of short humans. Which tall men have I even—” A look of dawning horror took over his face. “<em>Grand Moff Tarkin?</em>” he asked.</p><p>Faro didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, so instead she just said nothing, letting him reach his own conclusions. </p><p>“If it makes you feel better, sir,” said Eli tentatively, “it’s not like anyone judges you for it. Whatever you experienced in your homeworld, it’s not like that here. Same-sex relationships are totally normal here. And they’re <em> definitely </em> not illegal.”</p><p>It didn’t look like this really made Thrawn feel better. “Do you know how many times I’ve been indiscreetly asked out?” he said under his breath, leaning forward so they could hear him. “Each time, I thought I was on the cusp of ruin.”</p><p>“That’s … unfortunate,” Faro acknowledged. “You mean you were asked out at work events?”</p><p>“Ascension Week parties, perhaps?” Eli added. “Because there were a few times <em> I </em> noticed where you were hit on there. Or asked to dance, for example.”</p><p>Thrawn inclined his head.</p><p>“And … you didn’t by chance notice the other same-sex couples dancing with each other?” asked Faro dubiously.</p><p>A muscle jumped in Thrawn’s jaw. He seemed to be trying very hard not to glare at Eli. “I inquired about those couples,” he said tightly, “and I was informed human cultures are more free with their affections between friends than Chiss.”</p><p>Faro raised an eyebrow at Eli, who threw up his hands in exasperation.</p><p>“I didn’t know that he was <em> literally </em> unaware that gay people are allowed here,” he said. “How was I supposed to know <em> why </em> he was asking? I just figured Chiss couples don’t dance in public or something. You—” He turned his attention back to Thrawn. “—asked me <em> multiple </em> times whether the straight couples were dancing romantically or platonically. If you wanted to ask the same thing about the gay couples, you should have just done so and gotten it over with!”</p><p>“On the risk of death?” Thrawn said.</p><p>Eli opened his mouth to respond and then closed it again, settling for an eyeroll instead. Ever the diplomat, Faro decided to step in.</p><p>“If it’s lost time you’re worried about,” she said primly, “we can always find someone to set you up with, sir. I met a very nice bartender on my last shore leave who seemed amenable to military flings.”</p><p>“No,” said Thrawn, his voice flat. He lifted his datapad and held it close to his face, hiding his expression quite thoroughly. “The issue is settled.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“I’m busy.”</p><p>“Sir—” Eli tried.</p><p>“Dismissed.”</p><p>Faro and Eli gave each other another long look, communicating silently.</p><p>“So you’re not embarrassed anymore?” Eli checked. </p><p>Thrawn glanced up from the datapad just long enough to show that he was still very much embarrassed. “You witnessed me at the ripe age of nineteen positively commanding my middle-aged sector chief to <em> allow </em> me to give him a very eager — what’s the Basic word? — <em> acinsu elwinzawo</em>.”</p><p>Blushing faintly, Eli declined to translate this from Sy Bisti. When Faro glanced his way, he only gave a minute shake of his head.</p><p>“Of <em> course </em> I’m embarrassed,” Thrawn finished irritably, burying his nose in the datapad. “Perhaps you could give me ten minutes of peace and quiet to recover, and <em> then </em> we can discuss it in full mortifying detail, as you so clearly wish.”</p><p>In the end, they shrugged and left the command room with a few muttered apologies along the way, both of them lingering a few meters down the hallway. Faro closed her eyes, trying to banish from her memory what the captive Jedi had shown her.</p><p>“You were kidding about the bartender, right?” Eli muttered, keeping his voice low so Thrawn wouldn’t hear him.</p><p>Faro cracked open one eye to look at him. "Why?” she said. “You want the first shot at him now that he’s out?”</p><p>Eli blushed to the roots of his hair.</p><p>“This must be a very big day for you,” Faro acknowledged dryly. </p><p>“Oh, shut up.” Looking half-miserable and half-excited, Eli tried to rub the blush off his face. “This whole time I just thought he wasn’t interested in <em>me.</em> Turns out he’s just…”</p><p><em> An idiot? </em> Faro wanted to say. <em> Surprisingly unobservant for somebody who she knew could pick up month-old tracks on a forest floor? </em> </p><p>“Nervous?” she said instead, a bit more kindly. </p><p>“Yeah,” said Eli, looking down at his feet, his voice soft. “Yes, exactly.”</p><p>For a long moment, they were both silent.</p><p>“Of course,” said Faro, “we <em>did</em> go over the fact that he prefers … you know…”</p><p>She gestured to her own height, a solid 1.7 meters, and looked meaningfully at Eli, who was at least ten centimeters shorter than she was. </p><p>“Yes, thank you for that,” he said with a scowl, no doubt remembering how Thrawn had reacted to Grand Moff Tarkin and — even more embarrassingly — Darth Vader. Still, Faro could tell that Eli’s disgruntlement was more or less an act; after the near-decade he’d spent as Thrawn's aide, he had to know his chances wouldn’t be affected by something as unimportant as height.</p><p>In fact, he had to know his chances were pretty damn good. More or less guaranteed, really.</p><p>Then again, she would have thought <em> Thrawn </em> knew gay people weren’t illegal here, so maybe it was best not to make assumptions for now. She raised an eyebrow at Eli, nodding down the corridor toward the bridge in a wordless question.</p><p>“I’ll be along in a minute,” Eli said, rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>Faro raised her other eyebrow, too. “He <em>just</em> asked for ten minutes of peace and quiet, Vanto.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know. I'm not going to see him. Yet.” He gave her a tentative, sheepish smile. “I was gonna go thank the Jedi, actually. I don’t think he meant to, but … well, he kinda made my day. This is the best news I've had in seven years.”</p><p>Faro watched him go with some amusement.</p><p>If those two actually got together after all this, maybe she owed the Jedi a <em> thank you, </em> too.</p>
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